GameSpot's Month in Review for January 2004

Ah, a new year. And as you know, with a new year comes new games. January isn't traditionally a big month for game releases, since the industry spends all of its collective effort flooding the market with new games in the few months leading up to the holiday shopping rush. As a matter of fact, things have been a little slow around here on the release front. After the relentless and hectic pace of the fourth quarter, we're not quite sure what to do with ourselves.

Luckily for us (and for you), a few generous publishers graced us with a handful of truly excellent games in January. In fact, selecting the winners was a no-brainer when we looked at the list of reviews we've posted over the last month. It's safe to say that no matter which platform you own, you had at least one tasty gaming morsel to chew on in January. And since many of you have more than one (if not all) of the current platforms, we expect you were pretty full indeed.

So read on to get a complete picture of everything we reviewed in January and see our Game of the Month winners. As always, Complete members have access to our handy downloadable buyers' guide in Acrobat format (see sidebar). You can also send us any comments or questions about this feature by e-mailing us.

With the absolute glut of World War II-themed games on the market, who would have thought an old-fashioned turn-based strategy game would become one of the most interesting of the pack? That's exactly what Silent Storm has done, though. In the spirit of classics like Jagged Alliance 2 and X-COM, Silent Storm offers a serious strategic challenge to even the most hardened armchair tactician. And hey, you can't argue with giant WWII-era bipedal robot armor.

Check out our other PC reviews in January

Combat Mission: Afrika Korps (8.4)
"Afrika Korps is the third installment of the acclaimed Combat Mission series, and like its predecessors, it represents the absolute state-of-the-art in tactical wargames."

Unreal II: The Awakening Special Edition (7.9)
"The new XMP mode isn't all that original, but it offers a solid multiplayer gameplay experience."

Squad Assault: West Front (7.4)
"It's an engaging and realistic tactical wargame that's hampered by lackluster graphics and a strong sense of déjà vu."

Delta Force - Black Hawk Down: Team Sabre (7.1)
"It may not be realistic, but Team Sabre is packed with explosions, wild gunfights, and quite a bit of fun--though it's also extremely frustrating at times."

Inside the Park Baseball (7.0)
"The appeal of portraying a rookie with big-league dreams and the solid stat-generation of the OOTP engine make Inside the Park Baseball captivating for a few virtual seasons."

Horizons: Empire of Istaria (6.7)
"Unfortunately, Horizons offers little that hasn't already been done--and done better--by many other online role-playing games already on the market."

Atari: 80 Classic Games in One (6.6)
"This compilation has an incredible number of games for a budget price, but the translations of some of the better games unfortunately have some quirks."

Blade and Sword (6.3)
"Blade and Sword's strengths do not outweigh its shortcomings, which is unfortunate because there are some nice gameplay elements to be found here."

Conflict: Desert Storm II - Back to Baghdad (6.3)
"If you're really into squad-based military action games, Desert Storm II might be worth a look, despite the unfortunate absence of any multiplayer features."

Dominions II: The Ascension Wars (6.2)
"Dominions II is a game that's brimming with ideas of what a fantasy strategy genre game should be. Unfortunately, it's also saddled with tons of micromanagement issues and a cumbersome interface."

Postal 2: Share the Pain (6.2)
"It may seem strange to put it this way, but Postal 2: Share the Pain is the game that Postal 2 probably should have been in the first place."

Journey to the Center of the Earth (6.1)
"Journey to the Center of the Earth is marred by bugs, design problems, low production values, and general sloppiness that usually overshadow its genuine charms."

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (5.7)
"Though the game features some competent gameplay mechanics and attractive graphics, the extremely short campaign mimics the film's brief theatrical run a little too well."

Fast Lanes Bowling (5.2)
"Fast Lanes Bowling lacks substance and ultimately won't please bowling fans, be they hardcore or casual."

Jack the Ripper (5.2)
"Jack the Ripper turns the usual gaming trend on its head: The developers spent a lot of time creating an engaging story but hardly put any gameplay into the game."

Airport Tycoon 3 (5.0)
"It's unfortunate that the execution in the game is so disappointing in virtually every respect."

Pax Romana (4.9)
"There's little reward for all the indirect management you have to deal with, and the terrible interface sabotages the whole affair."

Shadowbane: The Rise of Chaos (4.7)
"For Shadowbane's population of player-versus-player aficionados, the expansion doesn't seem to do much, nor does it do enough to compel new players to get into the game."

Chaos Legion (4.5)
"Chaos Legion is still a repetitive and bland hack-and-slash game on the PC, just as it was on the PlayStation 2."

Ring II: Twilight of Gods (2.5)
"The utterly atrocious, incomprehensible Ring II is an insult to both gaming and a great composer."

Delta Ops: Army Special Forces (2.1)
"Delta Ops: Army Special Forces is an awful game that isn't worth your time or money, and that simply shouldn't exist."

Ultimate Demolition Derby (2.0)
"Ultimate Demolition Derby sucks all the fun out of its subject matter and replaces it with half-baked driving physics, an ugly graphics engine, and a host of other problems."

Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing (1.0)
"Just how bad is Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing? It's as bad as your mind will allow you to comprehend."

Though Snowblind Studios, the developer of the original Dark Alliance, has moved on to other projects, the game's sequel does an amazingly good job of picking up right where its predecessor left off. Dark Alliance II admirably continues the storyline of the original game and features more of the same hack-and-slash dungeon crawling that made the original so much fun. With a healthy variety of selectable characters, two bonus characters to unlock, and a great cooperative mode, Dark Alliance II features a lot of replay value.

Check out our other Xbox reviews in January

NFL Street (7.8)
"If you've been eagerly waiting for some fast-paced, hard-hitting football, NFL Street delivers what you're looking for."

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (7.3)
"It's basically a simple, mildly entertaining, and somewhat uneven quasi-futuristic dungeon crawl for one or two players."

Sonic Heroes (7.0)
"Sonic Heroes is truer to its 2D roots than any other 3D Sonic game before it."

Ford Racing 2 (6.8)
"Ford Racing 2 presents itself as a pretty exhilarating game, whether you're behind the wheel of a 1949 coupe or a GT40 concept car."

Sega GT Online (6.1)
"Regrettably, Sega GT Online's Xbox Live compatibility is far more problematic than its offline play."

IHRA Drag Racing 2004 (5.4)
"While IHRA Drag Racing 2 does a great job of representing the sport of drag racing, it doesn't necessarily make for the greatest game."

AMF Bowling 2004 (5.2)
"AMF Bowling 2004's clunky interface, general lack of gameplay variety, and stripped-down presentation leave it dull, confusing, and generally not much fun to play."

BlowOut (5.0)
"Unless you've already played every other game available in this genre, look elsewhere for your gratuitous action needs, as BlowOut doesn't deliver."

Star Trek: Shattered Universe (4.4)
"Perhaps if it existed in an alternate universe, Star Trek: Shattered Universe might be a game worth playing. Unfortunately, this is not the case."

Corvette (4.3)
"When you get right down to it, Corvette is a difficult title to recommend to even the most devout Corvette enthusiasts."

Let's be fair: Sonic has been struggling with the transition to 3D since his first real next-generation game, Sonic Adventure, was released back in 1999. Sonic Team has moved one step closer to perfecting the formula with Sonic Heroes, which is the fastest and most authentic 3D Sonic experience we've seen yet. The Sonic games have always been about speed first and everything else second, and thankfully Heroes strips out a lot of the peripheral stuff seen in the last couple of games and focuses on fast, fast, fast. Works for us.

Check out our other GameCube reviews in January

NFL Street (7.8)
"If you've been eagerly waiting for some fast-paced, hard-hitting football, NFL Street delivers what you're looking for."

XGRA: Extreme-G Racing Association (7.2)
"It's bigger and more ambitious than any of its predecessors, but XGRA is hindered by a few unfortunate technical and design issues."

Conflict: Desert Storm II - Back to Baghdad (6.7)
"Conflict: Desert Storm II isn't without problems, but it's decidedly improved over the original game."

Goblin Commander: Unleash the Horde (6.7)
"Console owners starved for a real-time strategy game should find Goblin Commander to be a worthwhile experience."

Midway Arcade Treasures (6.5)
"Some of the games featured just don't play the way they should, marring an otherwise stellar compilation."

NFL Blitz Pro (6.5)
"NFL Blitz Pro has good qualities, but ultimately, it tries much too hard to be something it isn't."

Medabots Infinity (5.4)
"Those who aren't already fans of this series should look elsewhere, and Medabots fans searching for a fix are far better off watching the cartoon instead."

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Falsebound Kingdom (3.1)
"The game is both needlessly arcane and one-dimensional, which is a bit of a feat in and of itself."

Capcom went above and beyond with the sequel to the, uh, delightfully hard Maximo: Ghosts to Glory. Rather than being a carbon copy of the first game, Maximo vs. Army of Zin introduces an entirely new combat and upgrade system that adds a lot of depth to the classic gameplay. Army of Zin also recognizes and fixes the design flaws present in Ghosts to Glory, which makes for a more streamlined and enjoyable game overall. Army of Zin is the perfect example of a sequel done right.

Check out our other PS2 reviews in January

R-Type Final (8.1)
"If R-Type must end, at least it's going out on a high note--rest assured that Final lives up to the classic R-Type name in every way."

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II (8.0)
"Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II will surely satisfy players looking for a well-crafted, accessible action RPG experience."

NFL Street (7.9)
"If you've been eagerly waiting for some fast paced, hard-hitting football, NFL Street delivers what you're looking for."

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (7.3)
"It's basically a simple, mildly entertaining, and somewhat uneven quasi-futuristic dungeon crawl for one or two players."

Super Trucks Racing (7.1)
"Super Trucks Racing can be recommended simply for the fact that it emulates its chosen sport surprisingly well and does so at a meager price."

Mafia (7.0)
"Because the PS2 version of Mafia compromises the PC version's graphical presentation and also introduces more interruptions into the gameplay, it comes off like a mere shadow of the original."

Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space (7.0)
"There are certainly better ways to get a fix for your giant robot jones, but Encounters in Space still stands as one of the more accessible Gundam games to be released."

Sonic Heroes (6.2)
"Sonic Team almost seems to be daring you to try to have fun with the PlayStation 2 version by making it significantly uglier, slower, and generally just rougher around the edges than the other two versions."

.hack Part 4: Quarantine (6.1)
"Quarantine does wrap up the storyline, but those who couldn't bring themselves to stick with the .hack series really won't be missing out on much."

Star Trek: Shattered Universe (4.4)
"Perhaps if it existed in an alternate universe, Star Trek: Shattered Universe might be a game worth playing. Unfortunately, this is not the case."

One look at King of Fighters EX2 on the GBA will tell you that as handheld fighting games go, this is something pretty special. The game features all of the no-holds-barred action you're familiar with on the Neo Geo and other big systems, and somehow it's all crammed into a tiny little cart for your brawling pleasure. The game looks and sounds amazingly accurate to the series for a portable port, and it should keep fighting fans on the go playing for a long time. Howling Blood is simply one of the best fighters on the GBA, period.

Check out our other GBA reviews in January

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (8.0)
"If you're looking for a hack-and-slash game on the go, this is the one to get."

Need for Speed Underground (7.7)
"Blocky graphics aside, Need for Speed Underground is a fun game that lets you design your own car and then lets you race it against opponents out on the mean city streets."

Sonic Battle (7.7)
"The multiplayer battle mode is a real riot, and the fast-paced design makes up for most of Sonic Battle's shortcomings."